When Robert Gillet stepped in as president of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology 16 years ago, the Ontario government was reducing funding for higher education by 15 percent. However, that didn’t stop the newly inducted president and his staff from laying the groundwork for major initiatives that are still progressing. Now that the school faces similar economic challenges, it is still undeterred in its mission to develop a state-of-the-art infrastructure both physically and digitally.
“We certainly had a very challenging year that first year I came to the school,” Gillet says. “We had to make cuts in recognition of reduced funding, and from that point, we have worked very hard to balance the budget and build a surplus.” The college also is looking into automating more administrative processes to create streamlined efficiencies and reduce personnel costs, which account for more than 70 percent of its yearly budget.
In making these changes, the Ottawa, Ontario-based college has enjoyed more fluidity and the ability to invest in student programming. In fact, over the past 16 years, the college has invested more than $500 million in new buildings and technology, or as Gillet likes to call it, “bricks and clicks.” From 2010 to the end of 2012, the three-campus school will have completed four new buildings. Additionally, the school recently set out on a new initiative to have all on-campus programming translated into online programming by 2016 to enable students the choice of on-campus, hybrid, online and mobile delivery.
“It has been a journey,” Gillet explains. “But over the past 16 years, the investments made in new infrastructure, both in technology and bricks and mortar, has repositioned this school both in the Ottawa community and globally.”
Heart of the campus
Next fall, the main Woodroffe campus will open a new 110,000-square-foot student commons that Gillet says will be the “heart of the campus” for students. The college is funding $22 million of the $52 million project, and the Algonquin Student Association is funding the balance. The school is aiming for LEED certification in accordance with its mission to be an environmentally responsible institution.
For its Pembroke campus, the school is in the midst of building a 100,000-square-foot waterfront campus to replace its current 40-year-old facility. The new facility, also scheduled for a fall 2012 completion, will help accommodate record enrollment numbers at the campus with 300 new full-time student slots, increasing the campus’ full-time student capacity to 1,016. The new four-story building will host a two-story library, gymnasium and fitness center, 16 classrooms and nine labs reserved for the nursing, science and automotive departments. It will also include a cafeteria and culinary arts working kitchen, a student commons and lounge and an outdoor logger sports training area.
Nearly 50 percent of students who enroll at Pembroke are from outside of the community. They are drawn to the school’s unique programming that relates to its immediate surroundings, such as studies in outdoor adventure, and golf and ski operations management. The same goes for its Perth campus that offers specialty educations in heritage masonry and carpentry as well as advanced housing – high performance, low-energy homes. These programs take advantage of the needs of this small, historical community, giving students a direct career path following school. “Our Woodroffe campus is where we have the majority of our educational programs,” Gillet explains. “However, our two rural campuses serving the Ottawa Valley are very specific in their programming. Both have taken advantage of the environments in which they find themselves and are key economic generators for their communities.”
Like Pembroke, the Perth campus has also seen increased enrollment and recently replaced a 38-year-old facility, which Gillet says had reached the end of its useful life, with a new 42,000-square-foot LEED gold campus. The new campus will allow for 250 to 300 new full-time student spaces.
Another recently completed project combines the school’s passion for quality buildings and new technology into one. The Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE) located at its main Woodroffe campus opened September 2011. The 190,000-square-foot, $79 million building not only serves as a facility where students are taught, but also as a teaching device in itself. The multi-level building is covered by a continuous green roof, and one interior wall has been transformed into a five-story bio wall, to demonstrate how oxygen transference can be done without mechanical devices. Also, a complete monitoring network of sensors and interconnected building systems provide real-time and historical data to staff and students to use for curricular and applied research purposes.
Tech savvy
The ACCE is a model demonstration of how integrated technology can transform the teaching experience. However, the school wants to use technology to transform how teaching is delivered, as well. When Gillet arrived at Algonquin College, he had just completed eight years as director of education at an Ontario school board. He knew that younger generations have an aptitude and thirst for technology infused into every facet of life. Sixteen years ago, Algonquin College was ill-equipped to deliver on the future’s need to be “connected.” “Students coming out of high school are working with two to three mobile devices,” Gillet says. “And their message is we want to be connected anytime and anywhere and we want a college that will meet that expectation.”
In 2005, the school began offering online courses. For several programs such as business and communications, the online curriculum was a natural fit. However, applied sciences, such as construction and nursing, necessitate physical interaction in most cases, but not in all cases. Algonquin also felt it was necessary to develop a system that allows students studying applied sciences to review missed lessons. By 2016, the school wants to develop programs that effectively supplement teaching for the applied sciences via online sources.
“We cannot just take programing that was developed for a non-college application like a PowerPoint presentation,” Gillet explains. “We have to deliver a digital curriculum that is as equally engaging as our regular curriculum. We need to find a technology that fully engages students, [and find] what software works and how to best record lessons so that the lessons can be stored and available to our students.”
Gillet explains that this initiative doesn’t just accommodate students who simply want to be connected, but also those who may not have a choice of attending on campus classes. The provincial government is rolling out legislation to meet the needs of the disabled community, and many students attending Algonquin College hold jobs or are single parents with little time to spare. In developing its physical and online campuses, this college is ensuring that anyone looking for a quality education in the Ottawa area has an opportunity to do so.
